April 6, 2002
Friends,
Below is an invitation to the National Summit to Stop the Repression Against Muslim, Arab, and South Asian Immigrants in Dearborn, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit), on May 18 and 19. The times in which we live demand that such a summit be organized. Hundreds remain in indefinite detention while a new wave of "voluntary" interviews and apprehensions are being implemented. Recently, mainstream Muslim organizations and institutions in this country were raided by the federal government. I personally feel that as we watch the escalating violence against the Palestinian people and hear the call for extending the U.S. led "war on terrorism" to Iraq, that there is the real danger of even greater repression in this country.
We urge you to attend this working meeting to develop a plan of action to resist and halt these government measures. This will not be an "educational" conference in the traditional sense although we all will be learning from each other. Rather, the point is to put our heads together and figure out what it is really going to take to stop this wave of repression. Groups and organizations are being asked to send one or two representatives to participate in this process. We all have diverse and varied experiences in the struggle that we can share to develop this plan of action.
Some of you have already signed the invitation and will be attending. For those who have not, we urge you to send in your request to be a signatory on the invitation and make plans to attend. You can let us know by sending e-mails to firsttheycamefor@yahoo.com . We will soon have a telephone number where you can directly reach the organizing committee in the Detroit/Dearborn area.
Please, selectively forward this invitation to those whom you think should attend the summit and play an active role in developing this plan of action to resist and stop the wave of repression against Muslim, Arab and South Asian immigrants. In addition, please, send us your thoughts, ideas and suggestions. Over the next few weeks we will be developing the agenda for the summit. Your input is vital. See you in Dearborn!
For the ad hoc organizing committee,
Travis Morales
National Summit to Stop the Repression Against Muslim, Arab, and South Asian Immigrants
Dearborn, Michigan - May 18 and 19
Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS)
First they came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, but by that time, no one was left to speak up.Pastor Martin Niemoeller
April 6, 2002
Friends in the struggle,
The words of Pastor Martin Niemoeller ring eerily true in the USA of 2002. But this time, there are two big differences. First, they are coming for the Muslim, Arab and South Asian immigrants AND second, we are speaking up and taking action.
Yet the level of opposition has not been strong enough. Increased and diverse actions by many different people are required to stop this repressive wave of racial profiling, roundups, disappearances, indefinite detentions, denial of due process, secret evidence, military tribunals and threatened death penalties.
A national movement to resist this new level of repression is urgently needed. The February 20 National Day of Solidarity with Muslim, Arab and South Asian Immigrants showed the high level of interest in protesting and halting this repression. Local activists have been protesting, alerting the public, defending immigrants and exposing these accelerating and unprecedented measures imposed by the government on many different levels. National leaders and organizations have expressed alarm and concern, issued policy analysis and formed new alliances to fight this attack on civil liberties. The times demand that we act together before it is too late. We invite you to participate in a summit to develop the plan of action for this national movement. A working meeting is scheduled for May 18 and 19 in Southeast Michigan, home to the highest concentration of people of Arab descent in the Western Hemisphere and a growing South Asian community.
We are not proposing yet another organization, but a new level of cooperation and coordination that would best serve the needs of the people. The signatories of this invitation have differing views on the reasons for the repression against Muslim, Arab and South Asian immigrants and the definitive solutions. But far more importantly, the participants in this summit will:
o Work to develop a shared plan of action to resist and halt these government measures and to reverse the culture of anti-immigrant hostility they create in society at large, and
o Strategize on how best to reach millions of people who are disturbed by these developments along with those who are the direct targets of this repression, so that we support those who want to act as well as those who are most vulnerable and most isolated.
Please join us in Dearborn to stop these repressive actions by helping build a hospitable community.
Summit Signatories (partial list):
ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services), Ismael Ahmed, Executive Director, Dearborn, MI
Carol Brouillet, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom*, Palo Alto, CA
Maribel Burgos, Executive Assistant, Social Justice Ministries, The
Riverside Church*, New York, NY
Chicago Direct Action Network
Civilians Down (a support group for surviving family and friends of
those killed by police), Houston, TX
Committee for a Democratic Palestine, Chicago, IL
Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) (national office)
Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) NY chapter
Free Palestine Alliance, Chicago, IL
Lynn Furay, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom*, Houston, TX
Dr. Bruce B. Graves, Ph.D., Consultant and Counselor at Liberation, Ypsilanti, MI
Thomas Gumbleton, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Detroit*
Granada Muslims and Jews for Human Rights, Chicago, IL
Gloria House, Professor Emerita, Wayne State University*, Detroit, MI
Houston A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and Racism)
Houston Coalition for Justice Not War
Donna Huanca, Curator, Art Car Museum*, Houston, TX
Travis Morales, supporter of the Revolutionary Communist Party, Houston, TX
Palestine Aid Society, Chicago, IL
Peoples' Progressive Network of Washtenaw County, Michigan
La Resistencia
La Resistencia Youth and Student Network, Houston, TX
Holly Severson-Brooks, Freelance Journalist and Peace Activist, Ann Arbor, MI
Society of the Sacred Heart--US Province Leadership Team
The Street Wall Journal, Rev. Thomas F. Saffold, Managing Editor, Ann
Arbor, MI
Triangle Foundation, Detroit, MI
TriCity Peace Action, Hayward, Fremont and Union City, CA
University Peace Initiative/Professors Opposing War (UPI/POW) at the University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawaii
Vietnam Veterans Against the War Anti-Imperialist
* For identification purposes only.
Add ____my name or ___our organization* as a signatory to the invitation to the May 18 & 19 summit in Dearborn (suburb of Detroit). * (___) Check if for identification purposes only. Return to firsttheycamefor@yahoo.com (mail signed forms to address below)
Signature__________________________________________________
Name Printed_______________________________________________
Organization or Institution____________________________________________Title__________ _______________________
Address________________________________________Phone__________________ __E-mail____________
Enclosed is my donation of $_____to distribute this call and help cover summit organizing expenses. Please, return endorsed calls and donations to: National Summit, P.O. Box 7152, Dearborn, MI, 48121-7152
Conference Registration
May 18 & 19, 2002
Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS)
6451 Schaefer Rd., Dearborn, Michigan
(between Ford Rd. & Warren Ave.)
Saturday, May 18 - 9:00 am to 6:30 pm
Sunday, May 19 - 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Please complete one registration form for each person attending the summit and return as soon as possible via e-mail to firsttheycamefor@yahoo.com
I would like to register [check one]:
Κ___ individual @$25.00ΚΚΚΚ___ student /low income@$10.00
Please bring your checkbook or cash with you to the Summit for payment when you check in.
Name _________________________________________________________
Organization or school (check if for identification only __) ______________________________________
Address _______________________________________________________
Tel ___________________________ Email ___________________________
For agenda information, directions, accommodations and registration fees, please contact firsttheycamefor@yahoo.com.
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